Top Trader Tip: “Anyone Could Do This”

An interview with Popular Investor Lena Birse (Onegirl)

Lena Birse began trading on eToro just over three years ago, and at the time, had no prior expertise in finance. “My main profession is being a housewife,” she says. Yet, Lena found similarities between investing and her experience in managing a household, and she encourages others to give it a go as well. “If you’re used to managing a budget at home, you can just as easily manage a portfolio.”

Which eToro tool do you consider the most important to your trading, and why?

The use of CFDs for buying stocks. I love the way you can buy “bite-sized” pieces of any stock. This is important as it allows me to trade with immense flexibility within my budget. This, in turn, is excellent for copiers, giving them access to this incredible market with a relatively small investment. In the past, if you wanted a portfolio of stocks like mine, you would need an account worth millions (or at least a million dollars).

Tell us about your best trade.

My best trades are ones that I have held for the long term. I am pleased to say I was an early Facebook buyer — I bought right at the first dip, probably the only time I have truly caught the very bottom of a share price.

What were some mistakes that you made as a new trader?

Using leverage, trying to time the market (speculation), and trading in assets I did not fully understand. All of which I will never do again!

What lessons from other areas of your life have you been able to apply to your trading?

In trading, as in life, always learn from your mistakes. And as Warren Buffet says, “Even better, learn from the mistakes of others.”

What do you feel sets the great traders apart from the rest?

Two things, really. Great instincts for picking stocks, and having the right temperament for trading — in other words, being patient and not panicking, even when all hell breaks loose!